When a new kid shows up at a playground do you know what happens? The kid typically gets the shaft.
Why? Because kids, and adults, don’t cotton to strangers right away. It takes time.
This concept appears to be a surprise to the editors of the Wall Street Journal’s Business Insight supplement put out today — “Why Diversity Can Backfire on Company Boards”
Turns out the entrenched white guys in Corporate America have a tough time when a woman walks into their boardroom.
The article purports to help companies deal with diversity, but most of it centers on how hard it is to integrate women and minorities onto boards.
As much as diversity is something we prize, the truth is that people often feel baffled, threatened or even annoyed by persons with views and backgrounds very different from their own. The result is that when directors are appointed because their views or backgrounds are different, they often are isolated and ignored. Constructive disagreements spill over into personal battles.
Boo, hoo and tough noogies guys. It’s hard but it has to be done.
The number of women are boards is a disgrace in this country.
This from Catalyst, a non profit research firm that promotes diversity in Corporate America, on 2009’s numbers:
Women held 15.2 percent of board seats, a number that reflects little growth over the past five years.
“It’s not enough to recognize the need to advance women into leadership positions,” said Ilene H. Lang, president and CEO of Catalyst. “It’s time to execute on it.”
Here’s some sage advice from my mom. It’s hard to do what’s right.
We’re all going to have to suffer a little discomfort to level the playing field in business.
Maybe it’s just too hard for you boys in power. If so, you might need a mom to come onto your boardroom playground and force you to play nice with the new girl. (Norway forced companies to put women on boards.)
Don’t worry, she doesn’t have koodies.
UPDATE: I decided to comment on the WSJ’s site where the article was published.
This is what I wrote:
I’m surprised the authors didn’t suggest a boardroom circle time, similar to those held at preschools.
Why is it surprising that diversity is hard. It is and we have to get over it.
Women still only make up 15 percent of US board seats, and that figure is little changed in the last 5 years, according to Catalyst. (I blog about that today, www.CareerDiva.net.)
If it’s so hard, maybe we should take a page from Norway and force corporations to integrate their boards.
This is what some guy named Dorian Marvin wrote in response:
Hasn’t Norway done enough? They gave Obama a Nobel Prize for Peace on less than 2 weeks of work and no milestones met, not even metrics set.
Let’s let Norway keep its business, and simply comprehend that the destruction of the male worker in the current economy should pay dividends for femaled executives in good time - there just won’t be any male compettion at least as in the rise through the ranks variety.
If women still can’t achieve boardroom success after this coup, then here’s a thought - despite all the clucking, maybe they don’t really want it?
The jury is still out though.
Are women just clucking? Are we just a bunch of noisy hens?
January 25th, 2010 at 11:47 am
I’m not for forcing any specific composition on a board, whether by gender, race, or any other factor, but at the same time I understand the benefits a diverse group offers that are not found in a homogenous group. That said, it should also be noted that you can have diversity among people who appear to be homogenous (e.g., white males). Diversity is an acknowledgement of the distinct perspectives we all bring to the table (e.g., small-town Norwegian Americans might have different viewpoints than city-dwelling German Americans).
When dealing with entrenched “old boys’ clubs”, the only real way to defeat such views seems to be a complete turnover on the board. If you leave any segment of the old group in place, they’ll either attempt to indoctrinate new members to their views, or they will be a continual stumbling block to the rest of the board. Such entrenchment and resistance may arise due to other disagreements, but those are more likely to be resolved when they deal with operational rather than ideological differences.
January 25th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
But I can’t help but think things don’t change unless there’s some sort of revolution…similar to the civil rights movement. Women need a MLK, no?
January 26th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
I believe the women’s movement has had its MLKs (e.g., Susan B. Anthony). I believe the struggles for parity that remain are enclaves of entrenched culture. Your analogy of a new kid on a playground was a good one. People tend to form or join social groups in which they feel safe. Feeling safe often entails being among people with similar beliefs. One such belief might be a belief in diversity. People who appreaciate diversity will feel more comfortable in groups that value diversity, and they will seek out the company of those who share those values. In established cultural groups (e.g., a board of directors), the group may not value diversity and thus resists attempts to introduce diversity. They seek to perpetuate that which they know, beceause they perceive that which they know as being safe. Time and individual experience can open one’s eyes to the value of diversity, but such changes could take generations. Indeed, some attempts at diversity have been underway for more than a generation. That’s why I believe that only by throwing out the entire old guard can the new order be introduced with a reasonable chance of success in the short- and long-term.